The present invention relates generally to portable corrals for horses or other animals, and is particularly concerned with a corral for attachment to a horse trailer or other animal transportation vehicle, or to a wall of a building such as a barn.
Horses used for competition and recreation are frequently transported via horse trailer to a variety of locations for such activities. Unfortunately, many of these locations either do not have facilities for horses to be stalled, the facilities are full, or the facilities are unsafe. Those traveling with horses, therefore, often bring along corral equipment that can be set up at the location for confining the horse. This equipment is either removably attached to the horse trailer or carried in the tow vehicle.
Materials often used in making these portable corrals include metal piping formed into fence panels, rope or electric wire, or woven plastic or rope. These materials are often connected to portable stakes driven into the ground to form fence posts.
Portable metal corrals have been used by those handling livestock for many years because of metal""s durability and high-visibility to the animal. Specifically, many forms of portable corrals have been invented. Many of these corrals, however, are cumbersome due to multiple parts that must be lifted and removed from the trailer and require time-consuming assembly. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,151 to Bolton discloses that the corral assembly be hoisted with a winch along a vertical support pipe up onto mounting brackets. The corral assembly by Blagg, U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,529 is so weighty and cumbersome that it requires two men to load and unload the assembly from the horse trailer. Bernhardt, U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,256, requires that part of the assembly be placed on the roof of the trailer and parts of it be lifted onto a holding means on the side of the trailer.
There are times when the horse person may wish to adjust the size of the corral due to parking constraints or terrain concerns. In this situation, none of the above corrals could be made smaller or of un-uniform size.
Safety is the key concern of a person traveling with a horse. Some portable corrals on the market are of such a height or material that they allow a horse to reach over the top rail or under the bottom rail with its head in an attempt to graze, leading to an unsafe situation if the horse were to become startled. Additionally, the corral assembly may become damaged.
Fences are also used on people""s property to contain and protect pets and children. Such fences are usually permanently installed with posts driven into the ground. A permanent fence may not be ideal in terms of cost, aesthetic concerns or for people who are not permanent residents of the property. Non-permanent fences in the past have been unstable and cumbersome to assemble.
People traveling in motor homes or with travel trailers often travel with their pets and children. Having a xe2x80x9cyardxe2x80x9d for the pets or children to play safely in would be advantageous. As space in such motor homes or travel trailers is often limited, such yard fencing would best be stored on the exterior of the vehicle in a compacted form.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved corral for temporary stabling and handling of livestock which can be mounted in a folded position on a horse trailer and then unfolded and expanded with ease. A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved enclosure for attachment to other vehicles, such as recreational vehicles and other trailers. Additionally, the claimed invention may be attached to a home to provide a non-permanent fence to enclose pets or to prevent children from entering a dangerous area such as a pool, or may be attached to a barn wall to provide a collapsible animal enclosure.
According to the present invention, a corral apparatus is provided, which comprises mounting brackets for securing at predetermined spaced locations on a surface of a vehicle, trailer, or building, a first side panel having a first end pivotally secured at least one of the mounting brackets and a second end, a second side panel having a first end pivotally secured to the other mounting bracket and a second end, each of the side panels being adjustable in length, and a third end panel extending between the second ends of the side panels, whereby an enclosure is formed by the surface, side panels, and end panel, the end panel being pivotally secured to at least one of the side panel second ends, and being movable between a deployed position extending transversely between the side panels and a collapsed position folded inwardly against at least one of the side panels, and the side panels being movable between a deployed position extending outwardly from the surface and a collapsed position folded flat against one another and the surface.
The end panel may be pivoted at one end to one of the side panels and releasably secured to the other side panel end. In an exemplary embodiment, the end panel is formed in one part, but may be formed in two parts, one part pivoted to one of the side panels and the other part pivoted to the other side panel, with the two parts releasably connected together to provide a gate for entry and exit from the enclosure, as well as to allow the end panel to be collapsed against the side panels for storage.
The two side panels may each be formed from two telescoping or relatively slidable parts to allow for adjustment of the size of the corral. For example, one part or panel portion may have upper and lower channels on its inner or outer face slidably engaged with upper and lower bars on the other part or panel portion, which is offset outwardly or inwardly from the other panel portion so as to slide over it into a retracted position to reduce the corral size. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, each side panel is formed from at least two parallel rails extending between vertical end posts, and each rail is formed from two telescopically engaged members to allow the length of the panel to be adjusted.
When the apparatus of this invention is secured to a vehicle such as a livestock or horse trailer, it may be readily stored flat against a wall of the trailer during transportation. Upon arrival at a destination, it can be deployed quickly and easily by one person, simply by folding out the side and end walls and adjusting to the desired size. The side and end panels in an exemplary embodiment are all formed by vertical tubular posts and horizontal tubular rails extending between the posts, and are of relatively lightweight construction, so that they can be deployed and collapsed easily by one person.